This application for a NCRR Minority Initiative grant is designed to strengthen the quality of precollege health science education and to improve the scientific literacy of the public as a whole by increasing the pool of underrepresented minority high school students who are interested in and academically prepared for careers in the health professions. Training experiences are also proposed for both K-12 inservice and preservice teachers. The main component of the proposed application is to provide a structured summer science research experience under the direction of active dental researchers for both teachers (4) and minority students (10). The Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry has participated in the Minority High School Student Research Apprentice Program (MHSSRAP) since 1983 to offer training programs for 50 high school students and six teachers. Contacts developed through these years will assist the Program Directors and the Program Advisory Committee to recruit program participants from the greater Augusta, Georgia area. The Program Director will be primarily responsible for recruitment of applicants. The Program Advisory Committee will Interview candidates and recruit mentors for each year and make the appropriate mentor/trainee pairings. The Program Advisor will be responsible for career development and orientation. An Education Coordinator will facilitate development of lesson plans. Research mentors will be selected from the School of Dentistry faculty who are well experienced in conducting dental research. Program participants will take certain courses (Research Methodology and Statistics, Seminar) and will present a paper at the end of the training experience. Short term evaluation will be conducted during each summer through both interview and written procedures and long-term overview will be followed by mailings at periodic intervals over several years